Nolan Ryan could leave Rangers by the end of spring training, sources say

Fort Worth Star-Telegram | Mar 4

Yes, there's been a shift of power in Arlington, which may or may not be the same as a power struggle, but the end result is the same.

Either way, Jon Daniels wins and a guy named Rick George wins, because the ownership group of the Texas Rangers decided that was the direction to go.

And the loser in all this?

Nolan Ryan.

All the above is a surprising development, and a risky development — I also say it’s a stupid development, because why jack with what has worked so well — but all of the above has been thoroughly sourced.

The Rangers owners are now on the edge of a local PR disaster with a large segment of the fandom.

Except Bob Simpson denied on Sunday that all of the above is the way the situation has unfolded, particularly concerning the possible exit of Ryan from the team, an exit that sources say is coming, if it happens, sooner rather than later. Like possibly by the end of spring training.

So far, however, Ryan has not confirmed he is planning on leaving the ballclub. He was not returning phone calls Sunday.

“Nolan Ryan leaving the Rangers would be a tragedy, and something we don’t want to happen,” the Fort Worth-based Simpson said Sunday upon his return from the team’s spring training headquarters in Surprise, Ariz.

“We absolutely do not want Nolan to leave. The moves we announced [on Friday] were to preserve Nolan, not to remove him, or remove his power. We want Nolan to be with the Rangers forever, and in charge of the team as long as he wants to be.”

The ownership announced that Daniels was promoted to president of baseball operations/GM, and that George in the front office was promoted to president of business operations. While the announcement was made over the weekend, I’m hearing the moves were actually made in late November.